" "To have the key" is an expression used by harvesters
elsewhere in the sense of to cut or bind or thresh the last sheaf;
hence, it is equivalent to the phrases "You have the Old Man," "You
are the Old Man," which are addressed to the cutter, binder, or
thresher of the last sheaf. Therefore, when a stranger, as at Brie,
is tied up in a sheaf and told that he will "carry the key of the
field," it is as much as to say that he is the Old Man, that is, an
embodiment of the corn-spirit. In hop-picking, if a well-dressed
stranger passes the hop-yard, he is seized by the women, tumbled
into the bin, covered with leaves, and not released till he has paid
a fine.
Thus, like the ancient Lityerses, modern European reapers have been
wont to lay hold of a passing stranger and tie him up in a sheaf. It
is not to be expected that they should complete the parallel by
cutting off his head; but if they do not take such a strong step,
their language and gestures are at least indicative of a desire to
do so. For instance, in Mecklenburg on the first day of reaping, if
the master or mistress or a stranger enters the field, or merely
passes by it, all the mowers face towards him and sharpen their
scythes, clashing their whet-stones against them in unison, as if
they were making ready to mow.
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